Which books should I buy?

[Pippin]

Hey there.

The world today: Pathfinder 1e is almost fifteen years old, it's been followed by Pathfinder 2e for quite some time, and there's not much left you can buy on the website anyway.
Me: now is the perfect time to start playing Pathfinder 1e and collecting books!

Besides the Core Rulebook (6th printing), the Gamemastery Guide (2nd printing) and the Bestiary (3rd printing), I'm not sure if there are other must-haves. I like practical and theoretical optimisation, so if there are powerful or cheesy things in a book, that book automatically qualifies as being interesting to me. Also, any book offering lots of options and customisation.

1. Should I purchase more bestiaries? Aren't the subsequent ones much less central than the first one?
2. Any thoughts on the Advanced Class Guide, the Advanced Player’s Guide or the Advanced Race Guide?

It is also my understanding that all things psionics are third-party. Nonetheless:

3. Should I buy the Psionics Expanded: Advanced Psionics Guide + Psionics Unleashed (revised), or should I buy Ultimate Psionics alone instead?
4. Should I buy the Psionic Bestiary?

Thanks a lot for your insight!

[Kurald Galain]

there's not much left you can buy on the website anyway.

You can still buy both physical and digital versions of pretty much every Pathfinder 1 book, over at http://paizo.com, and probably at Amazon as well.

Also, any book offering lots of options and customisation.

Well, let's start with that. The Advanced Class Guide and Advanced Players Guide both contain numerous additional classes, and a ton of archetypes, or alternative options for each class. On the other hand, the Advanced Race Guide has 37 additional races and also has a bunch of archetypes; but I find that classes impact the game more. Personally I'd go with APG > ACG > ARG.
I'll also add that Ultimate Magic contains a ton of additional spells, plus my favorite class (the Magus).

If you want cheese, go for Mythic Adventures, although most GMs probably won't allow that.
If you want first-party psionics, go for Occult Adventures, which also contains six more classes, most of which are psionic.
If you want third-party anything, then I don't really hear anyone speak about psionics ever, but spheres are popular.
If you want to GM a lot, prioritize the NPC Codex over a second bestiary; it contains fully fleshed-out builds for humanoid antagonists of all levels.

HTH!

[Pippin]

You can still buy both physical and digital versions of pretty much every Pathfinder 1 book, over at http://paizo.com, and probably at Amazon as well.


Well, let's start with that. The Advanced Class Guide and Advanced Players Guide both contain numerous additional classes, and a ton of archetypes, or alternative options for each class. On the other hand, the Advanced Race Guide has 37 additional races and also has a bunch of archetypes; but I find that classes impact the game more. Personally I'd go with APG > ACG > ARG.
I'll also add that Ultimate Magic contains a ton of additional spells, plus my favorite class (the Magus).

If you want cheese, go for Mythic Adventures, although most GMs probably won't allow that.
If you want first-party psionics, go for Occult Adventures, which also contains six more classes, most of which are psionic.
If you want third-party anything, then I don't really hear anyone speak about psionics ever, but spheres are popular.
If you want to GM a lot, prioritize the NPC Codex over a second bestiary; it contains fully fleshed-out builds for humanoid antagonists of all levels.

HTH!

Thanks for your feedback. So it turns out that all three advanced guides are a good investment! I think I'd rather have psionics in line with 3.5e though.

Most books can't be purchased physically on Paizo anymore. I'm still pondering if I should buy them in used condition, or if I should contact a printing company in Europe that will print those books for me at a decent price.

[Rynjin]

From a purely practical perspective, there is little point in buying any Pathfinder books besides Campaign Setting books and (especially) Adventure Paths. All rules are available for free (legally) online at AoNPRD.com (a fansite that has been turned into the official reference document).

Adventure Paths are also likely to just...look the best, as they tend to have a lot of fun art in them and very eyecatching covers.

3. Should I buy the Psionics Expanded: Advanced Psionics Guide + Psionics Unleashed (revised), or should I buy Ultimate Psionics alone instead?
4. Should I buy the Psionic Bestiary?

Thanks a lot for your insight!

Ultimate Psionics is the way to go, as it is the most up to date version of those rules, and erratas several things from the original Psionics Unleashed and Psionics Expanded books; it is simply an updated combination of the other sources.

Psionic Bestiary is neat, but not exactly a must have even if you're running a Psionic game.

[Crake]

From a purely practical perspective, there is little point in buying any Pathfinder books besides Campaign Setting books and (especially) Adventure Paths. All rules are available for free (legally) online at AoNPRD.com (a fansite that has been turned into the official reference document).

Agreed. Considering that 1e is no longer in production, theres no reason to give paizo any money unless you want to support 2e publications.

On the other hand, third party developers who are still producing 1e material are worth supporting with your money. Should double check to make sure that theyre actually still producing material though.

[Pippin]

Thank you everyone for your very valuable feedback!

I'll be looking up printing companies eventually I think